Cryo-Cell International – Innovative Stem Cell Solutions

Kudos to the American Hospital Association Society for designating July as Cord Blood Awareness month, an effort intended to increase expectant parents’ understanding of their cord blood banking options. What better time to celebrate progress made and focus on the great and many challenges that remain.

On the upside, 2009 has been a year of great hope and progress for cord blood awareness. The topic has garnered headlines in politics, public policy and even popular culture.

Most recent is the new blockbuster movie, My Sister’s Keeper, based on the compelling novel by Jodi Picoult. In the story, a family conceives a daughter who is genetically engineered to be a donor match to help save the life of their older daughter who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. The first of the many donations is her cord blood. Even though the story is fiction, it is based in part on a real family’s experience as well as on scientific fact. Since the first cord blood transplant in 1988, there have been more than 12,000 transplants worldwide. Today, stem cells from cord blood treat more than 75 conditions including several types of acute and chronic leukemias, sickle cell disease, Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Hodgkin's disease. Emerging science shows great promise for many more uses.

I’m pleased that the movie has sparked conversation at a grassroots level. Because the plot is so thought-provoking, it has given friends, families and neighbors a platform to talk about cord blood and its potential to save lives.

The first half of 2009 has been a busy one as it relates to public policy. On March 9, President Obama signed an Executive Order reversing a ban on the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.  While this action did not directly affect the non-controversial cord blood arena, it certainly sets the tone for rapid progress on all fronts.

The Executive Order was followed shortly thereafter by two other major actions at the federal level: H.R. 1718, the Family Blood Cord Banking Act and H.R. 2107, The Cord Blood Education and Awareness Act of 2009. These acts respectively would provide significant tax benefits for a family’s costs associated with umbilical cord blood banking and storage, and would mandate a public campaign to educate expectant parents about their options for banking or donating their child’s cord blood.

Additionally, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina all have passed laws to facilitate and enable improved education and awareness of the benefits of cord blood and its preservation.

While 2009 certainly has been a great year so far for garnering awareness for the benefits of cord blood, we’ve a long way to go. For instance, neither H.R. 1718 nor H.R. 2107 has gone to a vote. It’s important to encourage our country’s leaders keep these bills top-of-mind, especially because public awareness of the benefits of cord blood continues to be alarmingly low. In fact, the Journal of Reproductive Medicine published some very startling statistics as follows:

• 1 in 3 pregnant women never learn about cord blood banking

• 45% of pregnant women surveyed were unaware their baby’s cord blood could be used to help a sibling

• 84% of patients expect their healthcare provider to answer questions about cord blood banking

• Only 14% are educated by their healthcare provider about cord blood banking

Rather than be discouraged, I choose to view this information as a motivator for my continued perseverance, and I encourage everyone to do the same. The best way to celebrate Cord Blood Awareness Month is to leverage this year’s momentum to continue efforts on every front. We must ensure that families everywhere are not simply aware of nature’s miracle, but encouraged and even provided incentive to preserve it.